Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless stations, and more specifically reducing power consumption in wireless devices providing network connectivity for embedded devices.
Related Art
A wireless station refers to an end station of a wireless network. In one common scenario, wireless stations rely on access points as switching devices for transporting packets from one wireless station to another wireless station. Thus, wireless stations are the end points of (potentially multi-hop) communication based on wireless medium.
Embedded devices are a class of devices which are provided with limited capabilities in terms of memory and processing power. Embedded devices are contrasted with devices such as personal computers, cell phones, etc., which have substantially more memory/processing capabilities and provide suitable user interfaces for human users. Embedded devices find application in broad areas such as homes, offices, automobiles, etc., as is well known in the relevant arts.
Wireless devices often provide network connectivity for embedded devices. This implies that the embedded device in isolation does not have the capability to receive/transmit packets on wireless medium (which would require more processing power, etc.), but relies on a wireless device to provide such wireless network connectivity.
Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to reducing power consumption in wireless stations providing network connectivity for embedded devices.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.